On a Senior Roll...

Whoosh! Time is flying by this August with all of the Seniors I have been shooting. I have had a break from weddings in August (until tomorrow), then we have one every weekend but 1 until November 3rd. We will be rolling in weddings then! haha

Tonight I had the pleasure to photograph my cousin, Christine! She is a senior this year, so of course we did a senior session. It is amazing that she is already a senior. Man, I am getting old to quickly!! We had fun tonight. Hanging out with my Aunt LaLa and my cousins was great (and I can't forget Gizmo). I don't see them too often, so it was wonderful.

Christine is such a beautiful young lady and she is great with the camera. Here are a few of my favorite shots.















Gizmo joined in too!

Senior Session Part Two

A few weeks ago I posted a senior shoot with J. Tonight we got together again for some more shots. As usual, we had a great time, great light and great subject! A big thanks to Mom for being my assistant today!! I really appreciate the help. See you soon!

Here are some shots:

Family Shoot

I had a wonderful time, last night, hanging out with B,A & R! They have a beautiful home and property for shooting :-) We climbed trees, got in a boat (on the pond) and jumped on the trampoline. Fabulous! These kids are so sweet and well behaved. They love the camera too and I can assure you the camera loves them back!

Thanks guys(&girls)!!! I will be in touch soon.

Check them out!

Senior Session

Ah beautiful light again tonight! Meet C. Such a sweet girl. We had a great location to use this evening... Her Grandmother's home. We had lots of light, open shade as well as Mom, Sister and Grandma to help out. C is great in front of the camera and she has the bluest eyes, that hold that light...

Thanks for having me over! I always have a great time doing what I love.

Enjoy these few pics.

Angela and TJ - Engagement

Angela and TJ are getting married next July 12, 2008. They are a great couple! We had an engagment shoot on Saturday evening, down on the campus of W&J University. This is where they went to college. I knew when I met them, that we would have a lot of fun together, and we did! The images speak for themselves about their love for one another. Thank you both for having me along to capture the fun! I had a blast and can't wait for the wedding.

I love meeting new couples and gaining new friends. This is the best job in the world!

Here are a few images:

About David

I often get asked, "What do you do for a living?" I am always happy to answer, "I am a photographer." Most times I elaborate and explain that I am a primarily a Wedding Photographer, but also enjoy Lifestyle Photography. Then the obvious question follows... "What is Lifestyle Photography?" Answer: Photographing Life as it happens.

Documentary Photography is a good term to describe how I see the world. It is so important to me that I photograph Weddings and Life in the most unobtrusive way. I enjoy seeing people be themselves. I want to follow, observe and document instead of directing and posing. I want viewers of my images to feel as though they were there, without drawing attention to myself. I utilize available light in the majority of my work. I also enjoy using off camera lighting when I am creating images of individuals, to add depth to the images.

Early on in my career as a photographer, I was under the impression that wedding photography had to be stopped, posed, perfectly lit and shot from a tripod as often as possible. How wrong I was! I remember the time when I just started photographing the little things (as I was assisting) that were going on around me. The flower girl smelling her flowers, the "in-between" moments during the family formals, the laughter of the bride and her brides maids as they are getting ready, etc... I came alive at that moment and knew that I needed to be a different kind of photographer.

I love Life. I love People. I look forward to each and every day. I have been blessed with a wonderful wife, and 4 precious children. When I meet new people and become a part of their lives, I treat them as my own and think of how precious they are to each other. This motivates me and helps me to enjoy each and every assignment I have.

I wish I could say, it was all me that figured it out, but I would be mistaken. I thank my wonderful wife, Bridget, for giving me the push to "Go For It!" Her love, encouragement and support has brought us to where we are today. Together, our Faith in God and embracing His Grace is what really keeps the ball rolling. To Him, we are forever grateful.


Thanks for stopping by, we look forward to meeting you!


David Burke is a photographer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is available for travel worldwide. For more information contact him through his website or email him directly at david@davidburkephoto.com

Our new studio is located at:
633 Washington Road
Mt. Lebanon, PA 15228

Tagged

My good friend and very talented photographer, Andy Peterson, blog tagged me. This means that I have to list 8 things about me that you may not now. (Incidedtly, another great photographer and friend, Erich Camping, blog tagged me today too!)

Let’s begin.
1. I love my wife and kids more than words can say. Each one of them has something unique about them that makes me love them more and more. Without them I would be nothing. They keep me motivated and smiling (constantly).

2. When I was a boy, I always wanted to grow up and be a dad. I said that I was going to have 5 kids. With our blended family, our newest baby girl will make that 5 (in my heart).

See, I had a daughter in 1998. Her name was Jourdan Leigh Burke (1/29/98 - 2/1/98). She was born with a heart defect called Left Heart Hypoplastic Syndrome and she only lived for 3 days. This was not known during the pregnancy or upon birth. She was born healthy and we have beautiful and fun memories of her for the first 36 hours of her life. Jourdan will be with me always. She is my little angel :-). Here is a picture of her.



3. Favorite things besides family: Dozer (my boxer dog), my church, my Nikons, my Macs, my Honda, vacations, Harry Potter series, business books, simplicity, music, movies, Xbox 360, photographs of course!

4. I have always loved computers and cameras. Funny how things turn out! My first computer was a 1991 Packard Bell 16 Mhz with 1MB RAM. The hard drive was 85MB. I remember saying to my friend, ‘Man 85 megs! I will NEVER fill this up!’ On a typical wedding day I fill up about 16,000 megs with pictures!

My first camera was a Kodak 110. Then I moved to the Kodak 35mm compact camera. I bought my first SLR (a Minolta) in 1997. I then truly fell in love with photography. After that I bought a Nikon N70 in 2000. The Nikon D100 in 2003 was my first digital SLR and the rest is history. (I occassionally still shoot film. Kodak Tmax 3200 for Black and White. Fuji Pro 400H for color.)


5. I graduated college after majoring in Accounting and Finance. I was an accountant for a short period of time before I realized how much I disliked accounting. I taught myself how to program in Visual Basic and ended up getting a job as a programmer. I eventually settled into mostly database programming for the majority of my computer career.
I always wanted to be independent and have my own business. Bridget gave me the kick in the but to try the photography business. My business background and computer experience have been tremendous assets. Thank you b!!

6. I hate snakes. Yes I am afraid of them. Even gartner snakes.

7. I used to play guitar and sing all the time. As I got older and busier, I stopped. Now that Damon just bought his first guitar, I am getting back into it. Music is a wonderful catharsis. This is something we can really enjoy together. Side note: Damon’s talent is amazing. He is good at everything he tries.

8. If you need tips on how to grow a killer mullet, I can help. I had a huge mullet in high school. It was my pride and joy (See picture below).


I tagged:
Heather Lahtinen
Melissa Rich
Priscilla O'Sullivan
Michael Norwood
Mike Steelman
Kelley Calvert
Joanne Bartone
Robin Pesa

Bray's First Haircut

Today Bray had his first haircut (plus we haven't blogged him in a while). Just a trim though! We were not ready to part with those curls yet. Here are some snaps and a few of him this evening, trying to beat the heat. It is hot as heck in Pittsburgh today!

Nerd Alert!

*Readers beware* - Technical, Geeky Photographer talk taking place in this post.

My beloved Nikon have announced two new cameras to their, already outstanding, lineup the D3 and D300!

The Nikon D3


The Nikon D300


I am Really Pumped for the D3 because of it's "Full Frame" capability. This means that the digital sensor is the same size as a frame of 35mm film. This is wonderful news for my favorite lenses the 50 1.4 and 85 1.4, because they will actually operate at the intended focal length. That means more working room in smaller spaces and incredible depth of field capabilities!! Creatively, this will be a humongous treat.

Needless to say I will be preordering the D3. They are both slated to release in November. I am not sure if I will jump to the D300, because I still love my D200(s).

Thank you Nikon! I can't wait to play :-)

Laura and Mark Engagement

Laura and Mark are getting married on November 3, 2007. We met this past weekend for an engagement shoot. We were blessed with beautiful evening light. Their connection with each other really made the shoot a success. I just told them where to go for the sweet lighting and they did the rest. No direction necessary :-) That is always a treat. They are such a great couple and they are totally in love! I am really looking forward to the November wedding. In fact it is our last wedding for the year, so it will be special. It will be like icing on the cake for a fabulous 2007 of weddings!!!

Thanks Laura and Mark for hanging out with me. I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Here are a few pics:

More Senior Shootin'

Tonight I met with J and her family. Again we lucked out with the weather (it was supposed to Thunderstorm) and headed outdoors. Although a bit humid, we made it work. She is so photogenic and happy :-). I met her back in February at the American Heart Association Gala that I covered. Her and a few of her friends grabbed some of the costume attire and then got my attention to take a few shots. We had so much fun! I was really happy when her mother called to schedule her senior pictures with us.

We came across this great field of corn and had some fun with her second outfit. We also were shooting with her siblings, earlier on in the evening. That was a lot of fun too!

This is part one of J's shoot. We have another shoot scheduled in a few weeks, so be sure to check back. Thanks to J and her family for having me along. I look forward to seeing you all again!

Here are a few: